In a statement released on Thursday, the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML (ASML.AS) announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Peter Wennink, will step down after his tenure in April of next year. Christophe Fouquet, a seasoned employee of the company, will succeed him.

According to Wennink, who is 66 years old, ASML has seen explosive growth since he was promoted to chief executive officer from the position of finance chief in 2013. ASML has become Europe’s most extensive technological firm, with a market capitalization of 250 billion euros ($274 billion), as its stock has increased by more than 1,000%.

Although Wennink maintained high positions at ASML, the business eventually dominated the lithography market. This market is a subset of the chipmaking sector that uses light to assist in the printing of chip circuits. As a result, the company surpassed its Japanese competitors, Nikon (7731.T) and Canon (7751.T).

Before his current position, Fouquet, a French native ASML employed for fifteen years, was in charge of the company’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) product lines, which are responsible for around fifty percent of the company’s total sales. Only a few companies are currently using EUV technology, which ASML is responsible for developing and commercializing.

Each EUV machine is the size of a school bus and costs two hundred million dollars. Memory chip manufacturers Micron (MU.O.) and SK Hynix (000660. KS) are among the customers. Other customers include TSMC (2330. TW), which is based in Taiwan; Samsung (005930. KS); Intel (INTC.O); and Samsung.

During the last years of Wennink’s administration, the United States government pressured the Dutch government to prevent ASML from selling EUV products in China, the company’s third-largest market after Taiwan and South Korea.

“There was a clear intent to prevent very advanced chip technology in China,” Fouquet stated during a teleconference. He went on to say that, without EUV, it was incredibly impossible to progress beyond a particular technology.

On the other hand, he acknowledged that it is not entirely apparent if new limits on older technologies will be beneficial or what their objective is.

“It’s fully up to the U.S. to decide what they believe is right or not for themselves,” stated the president. Additionally, Fouquet revealed that ASML is on schedule to launch the first pilot machine of its following product line, described as “High NA” EUV, by the time this year ends. Intel has revealed that it is the purchaser. “It’s being packed as we speak; in fact, some pieces of it have already been shipped,” according to him.

Before beginning his employment with ASML in 2008, Fouquet held positions at the American chip equipment firms Applied Materials (AMAT.O) and KLA (KLAC.O).

“Christophe’s career is a clear example of natural evolution throughout the company,” according to Wennink. “He knows all our customers, suppliers, people, and shareholders.”